Heart and Determination
by Bloodlustkunoichi
Summary: Haruno Sakura, now an elite Jonin-sensei with her own genin team and a part time ANBU field medic. When a new threat to Konoha arises with Sasuke involved...Will she be able to save him from his own darkness and still be able to protect her own team? SxS
1. Chapter 1

Ugh all the school work is making my world stuffy…need to write some stories…Anyway we are going to start off after Pein's attack on Konoha! From there it's all me Haha!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto but the plot is all mine

(-. - ) Enjoy!

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Chapter 1: The new generation

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It has been four long years since Pein's horrific attack on Konoha. The village was rebuilt from scratch, many still mourned for the lives lost that day and everyone knew the memory will never leave them…no matter how much they want to forget. It is true that none other than the kyuubi jinchuuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, had fought off Pein and saved the village from utter destruction. This act alone had opened everyone's eyes and they had finally come to respect the blonde shinobi. After this incident the Godaime Hokage sent any shinobi who was not injured to locate the remaining Akatsuki and destroy them, but to everyone's shock they were nowhere to be found…at least not yet. After Four years of waiting for the vengeful return of the Akatsuki, Tsunade has decided to name a successor…someone stronger…someone who had the heart and determination needed to keep the village safe. Of course this honour was given to Uzumaki Naruto, demon container of the kyuubi.

"Sakura-chan! I'm bored! Baa-chan won't let me go anywhere! Not even for ramen! Can you believe this!?" Sakura sighed softly as she stood in the Hokage's office listening to Naruto whine about how boring his 'training' is. Tsunade on the other hand looked ready to throw the boy out of the nearest window.

"Naruto…this is what you've always wanted isn't it? You are now the future Rokudaime Hokage!" Sakura suppressed a smile as she watched Naruto pout before nodding his head slowly.

"Naruto! Stop whining you little brat! I'm trying to teach you how the filing system works around here! Now shut up and wait while I talk to Sakura!" Naruto frowned and mumbled a few words under his breath as he slumped in his chair. Sakura smirked a little before turning towards her shishou.

"Oh yeah…What did you need me for Tsunade-shishou?" Tsunade gave Sakura a proud smile as she gazed at her old apprentice. Sakura was now a Special-Jonin and a part time ANBU field medic. Her short petal hair was tied in a small ponytail while a few strands fell against her face; those bright emerald orbs have now become a little sharper and glittered with determination. Her usual shinobi attire now consisted of a dark crimson Chinese-style sleeveless shirt, her usual medic skirt and the regular black Jonin pants. The leaf symbol proudly placed on her forehead. Yes…her student was now one of the strongest Kunoichi in her village.

"Sakura…You have already long surpassed me in strength and in the medical field. You are not required to call me 'shishou' anymore…not to mention that you've also surpassed Kurenai in the genjutsu section," Sakura could only give her sensei a warm smile as she shook her head.

"No, I do not only call you 'shishou' out of habit…I also call you 'shishou' to show you my respect and gratitude for being patient with a weakling like me," Tsunade let out a small chuckle as Naruto smiled at his petal haired best friend. Sakura smiled but she had meant every single word…if Tsunade had not chosen to take her under her wing…she wouldn't know where she would be right now.

"Anyway I have called you here to give you this…congratulations you have passed and met the needed requirements," Sakura grew a little confused as she reached out and read over the file that Tsunade handed to her. Her eyes widened and a grin broke out as she read over her results.

"What? What is it Sakura-chan?" Naruto scratched his head as he tried to make sense of what was happening. Both women seemed to be smiling and congratulating?

"I'm a…I'm a-"

"Yes Sakura…You have passed the exams to become a Jonin sensei…a genin team will be assigned to you tomorrow," Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head and he ran over to his friend and enveloped her in a gigantic hug. Sakura hugged back as she couldn't help the excitement that washed over her.

"I can't believe I got accepted…" Sakura closed her eyes and let relief wash over her for a moment. She knew that she was a little too young to be a sensei but she wanted to take the challenge and teach the new generation of Konoha. Tsunade gave a snort at Sakura's comment.

"Of course they'd accept you! You were my apprentice after all! Plus…the genin team who gets you should be lucky since they will be having the famous Godaime Hokage's apprentice training them," Sakura laughed a little at her teacher's boasting but once she noticed the time she let out a sigh.

"I've got to get going…I promised Kakashi-sensei that I'd visit him today. Bye Naruto, Shishou," With a bow Sakura disappeared from their view in a swirl of sakura petals.

"Now Naruto…The scroll filing system is a little more complicated than that of the-HEY! Get back here! UZUMAKI!!" Tsunade's angry howl was heard throughout Konoha as a blonde shinobi snickered and made his way to Ichiraku's Ramen bar.

Sakura walked along the streets of Konoha, noticing how the village was now back to its peaceful state and not overcome by fear and misery. She sighed when images of the past came rushing at her. She did everything she could that day, healing anyone she found and killing off any threats that dared to harm the innocent lives of the people…but she knew…she knew deep down that her efforts weren't enough. Maybe if she was stronger back then, like she was now, then maybe Tsunade might not have almost lost her life due to severe chakra depletion…maybe she could have helped Naruto in his fight against Pein. Sakura knew she had to get even stronger…and so she did, training day in and day out with anyone who was willing to help her.

"Naruto…we've both come a long way…but even with our strength…we still haven't brought _him_ back," Sakura let out another sigh, she still wanted to save the third member of the old team 7 but with no information coming in about the last Uchiha…they had nothing to go on. Naruto also found it increasingly frustrating that Sasuke's movements have somehow stopped two years after the Akatsuki attack. No one could get anymore information on him or his team.

"No point in wasting my thoughts on him…" Sakura continued to walk along the streets before coming around to a few corners which led her to her old sensei's apartment. Sakura held no more romantic feelings towards the Uchiha…but the determination to bring him back still burned within her heart…for Naruto's sake.

"Hm…I wonder if he's home," Sakura stopped in front of an apartment door and let her chakra flare a little so that Kakashi would notice she was here. Every time Sakura would recall the past she would also remember how they had come so close…so close to loosing their own sensei. By the time Sakura and Tsunade had found him, his pulse was so weak that no one could tell whether it was still there, luckily Sakura had used her chakra to scan his body. And his chakra…his chakra was over used and more then depleted, it was a miracle how he managed to survive.

"Ah, Sakura! Come in, come in," Sakura gave Kakashi a smile before stepping into his small apartment and seating herself on his couch. Kakashi on the other hand grabbed two beers from his fridge and threw one to his ex-student before sitting down on the couch opposite to her. Sakura caught the chilled bottle and stared at her sensei questioningly.

"What? You're 20 years old now! It's legal," Sakura smirked before opening her own bottle.

"So what did you want to see me for Kakashi-sensei," Sakura downed some of her drink before staring at her sensei patiently.

"Hey now I've asked you and Naruto to call me Kakashi, you two have surpassed me and have become famous amongst shinobi…heck you two are on the top lists in all the bingo books," Kakashi smirked as pride filled him, remembering his two precious students' faces on the S-rank list…whether it was a good thing or a bad thing never occurred to him.

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't think being in the bingo books is actually a good thing…" Kakashi let out a small chuckle at Sakura's bored look.

"Anyway back to the point…I heard that you passed the exams, congratulations on becoming a sensei Sakura! Make sure you pass down my teachings!" Sakura gave a little snort as Kakashi chuckled at the thought of Sakura reading his infamous little book.

"Yeah…I'm kind of nervous though. I mean instead of looking out for my own life I'd be responsible for three new genin who barely know the reality of the shinobi world," Kakashi reached over and gave his only female student a soft pat on the shoulder. Sakura looked up and sighed as she took another swig of her beer.

"Don't worry Sakura you'll be fine, you're strong enough to protect your students and don't ever doubt that," Sakura knew Kakashi was also referring to her own promise of protecting those precious to her…vowing to fight alongside them instead of watching their backs as they protected her. Sakura smiled at her sensei's encouraging words.

"Alright…but how come they've already chosen a team for me? I just found out my results," Sakura blinked in confusion since the thought had been bugging her during her walk to Kakashi's apartment. Kakashi took on a thinking pose before his eyes crinkled and a smile graced his lips under his mask.

"Now that you mention it…I remember that they group the genins a few weeks before the new teacher's receive their results, the teacher's who have already had experience with genin teams before are assigned a team earlier. That is if my memory is correct," Kakashi rubbed his chin a little as he tried to remember if that was really the case and not his memory playing tricks on him. Sakura smirked at Kakashi and shook her head sadly.

"Oh sensei…old age must be hitting you hard these days, ne?" Kakashi's eyes narrowed towards his student playfully before crossing his arms indignantly. Sakura gave him look.

"I am not _that_ old! I'm only 33 years old thank you!" Sakura laughed as Kakashi continued to prove his 'youth'. Sakura knew that Kakashi wasn't really that old but even at his age he was still boyishly handsome.

"Oh crap, I forgot I have shifts at the hospital today and seeing as I won't be spending much time there due to my genin team I shouldn't be late. If there's nothing else Kakashi-sensei I'll take my leave now," With that Sakura downed the last of her beer and gave Kakashi a big hug before making her way towards the door, only to be stopped by her sensei's voice.

"Oh! Sakura I forgot to give you these," Sakura turned and watched Kakashi place something in her hands. Much to Sakura's surprise Kakashi had placed two little bells in her hand. She opened her mouth to speak but Kakashi beat her to it.

"Just call it…tradition, ne?" Sakura simply smiled, understanding what her sensei meant. With one last wave the pink haired kunoichi took to the rooftops, not wanting to be late for her hospital shift.

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"Oh dear Buddha…" Sakura groaned out tiredly as she dragged herself to the direction of her apartment. Tsunade must have told the hospital that Sakura wouldn't be working there constantly anymore…and so they worked her to the bone! The petal haired kunoichi sighed softly as her body indicated that she was near chakra depletion. Once she got to her apartment she had placed a very complicated genjutsu around it before plopping down on her bed to get some much needed rest.

"Ugh…what time is it...Damnit," Sakura pushed herself off of her messy bed and noticed that she was still in her doctors' uniform. She cringed slightly at the thought of not taking a shower.

"Might as well go take one now…I guess it'll be okay if I'm a few minutes late," With that thought in mind Sakura carried out her usual morning routine before putting on her usual shinobi attire. Sakura quickly dried her short hair before tying it back into a small ponytail with a few loose strands falling against her face. She attached her medical pouch onto the back of her medical skirt and checked if she had all her weapons on her.

"Alright…time to head out!" Sakura adjusted the leaf symbol that was placed on her forehead before leaping out of her bedroom window. Sakura headed towards the Hokage tower so she could get the file on her new team, then she would head towards the designated training grounds.

"Tsunade-shishou, I'm going to need my team's files," Sakura strode into the Hokage's office and found her old mentor sleeping on a stack of paperwork. A sigh escaped from her lips before she sucked in a breath…

"SHISHOU!"

"Huh?! What?! Where's the attack coming from!" Tsunade calmed down a little before darting annoyed hazel orbs towards her former apprentice…who seemed to be feigning innocence.

"I need my new genin team's files shishou…I'm already late as it is," Tsunade let out a groan of annoyance before digging through her already chaotic desk. Once she found it she handed it over to Sakura, who surprisingly did not read it over.

"I'll read it after I meet them shishou," Sakura chuckled softly after reading her Tsunade's look of confusion.

"Alright…well good luck and if you see Naruto…tell him he's a dead man," A look of utter annoyance and anger played on the beautiful blonde's face but Sakura could only sigh before nodding and heading out.

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"Hm let's see…training grounds 10? Alright then," Sakura placed the file securely under her arm as she took to the trees in order to make her travel shorter…and not to mention get there quicker. After a few minutes Sakura could see a bit of the clearing up ahead and a small lake near it. A small smile crept onto her lips as she could spot three little heads sitting near the glistening lake.

"Damnit! Where is our sensei! They should have been here half an hour ago!"

"Stop your whining…we must have been the unlucky ones who end up getting a lazy assed sensei,"

"I'm sorry but I hope your not referring to me," Both boys' heads shot up at the tall female narrowing her eyes at them. The first boy who had spoken snorted and crossed his arms with a small huff.

"Well you're late!" Sakura chuckled softly at those familiar words, images of her and Naruto screaming at Kakashi flooded through her mind. Sakura then shrugged and let a lopsided grin play on her full lips.

"I'm sorry…I guess I just got lost on the road of life-" Sakura was then cut off by the second boy who only narrowed his eyes at her.

"We don't need excuses," Sakura forced out a smile as her brow twitched in annoyance. Here she thought she would have a blast since she adored children…but these brats were not what she had imagined…or expected.

"Anyway I have your files here so let's see who my genin team consists of…" Sakura pulled out the manila folder from under her arm and flipped through the pages. She stopped at the second page and smiled…she had not been expecting this.

"So the first member of Team 17 is…Hyuuga Reiji 12 years old…I see I have a Hyuuga huh?" Sakura observed the boy a little more and noticed how his soft chocolate brown hair was not long at all! Instead it was cut short and reached his chin at most with strands falling around his face. The Konoha forehead protector was proudly placed on his forehead…a few bandages peeked out from underneath meaning he was a part of the branch family. Reiji wore a simple beige sleeveless shirt with a few buckles decorating the front, plain black shorts and his kunai pouch was strapped against his right leg.

"That's right but don't judge me because of my last name!" Sakura merely blinked at the glaring boy before she reached over and gave his head a hard pat, making him wince in return.

"I don't care if you are a Hyuuga or whatever clan you come from…just as long as you have the ability to become a strong shinobi," Sakura gave the pearly eyed boy a small smirk before walking over to the second genin.

"Second member of Team 17 is Yamanaka Akira? Yamanaka…you must be one of Ino's relatives, no?" Akira stared back at Sakura with sharp ocean blue orbs before he grunted in agreement. Akira sported shoulder-length sandy blond hair that looked to be layered. He had his forehead protector tied around his left arm. The 12 year old wore a loose dark violet vest along with cream coloured shorts and his kunai pouch was attached to his left thigh.

'What is with theses kids?! Geez…knowing Ino and her family I thought the Hyuuga would be the smart-assed-stoic-know-it-all! But no…it had to be the other way around and now I'm stuck with a loud mouthed Hyuuga, a smart-assed Yamanaka…what's next?!' Sakura grit her teeth for a moment before forcing out a tight smile…got to have patience…patience.

"And the third member of Team 17 must be our own little…kunoichi…? Harada Daichi?! WTF?!" Reiji and Akira snickered as they watched their sensei stare at the quiet red head, sitting to their right, in disbelief. Sakura continued to gape at the third boy before she shook her head and read through the files thoroughly…and that's when she noticed a small post-it note hanging on the bottom of the last page.

"Dear Sakura-sensei, I'm sorry to say that you will be handling an all boys genin team. There is nothing we could do about this group because there was a few kunoichi who had failed the academy exams, therefore creating a shortage in teams," After reading the note out loud Sakura gave a long sigh before straightening up. She walked over to the third member and waited for the silent boy to look up.

"H-Hai sensei?" Sakura's eyes softened when she saw the sadness in the young boy's golden orbs. He seemed to be a bit hurt due to the fact that Sakura seemed to want a kunoichi instead of him…silly boy she was just surprised. Sakura smiled at the red head and gave him a small pat on the cheek.

"Third member of Team 17 is Harada Daichi, 12 years old. Welcome to the team," Sakura watched as the hurt in those sharp golden orbs disappeared and was soon replaced with excitement. Daichi's wild red hair was loose and reached his back as his forehead protector acted as a bandana to keep some of his hair away from his eyes. He wore a black tank over his usual mesh shirt, his shorts were a deep grey and his kunai pouch was strapped onto his right thigh.

"Alright listen up boys! I am Haruno Sakura and I will be your Jonin sensei from now on…now let us gets to know each other better shall we?" Sakura inwardly smirked as she saw boredom decorate their little faces as she announced herself. Of course she didn't expect fresh genin to know exactly who she was and what her reputation was about. The thought was sort of welcoming since they wouldn't judge her straight away.

"Right…Now we'll start with Reiji, then Akira and lastly Daichi. You may talk about your goals etc…" Sakura motioned for Reiji to start and once he stood he gave her and the rest a wicked grin.

"I, Hyuuga Reiji, will become one of the strongest shinobi ever! I'm going to do this so that I can show my bastard of a father how wrong he is!" Akira seemed to glare at the loud Hyuuga while Daichi gave him a small clap of encouragement. Sakura on the other hand narrowed her eyes at the boy…there was something about him that made her want to help him reach his goals…not to mention that he was a complete opposite to the rest of the Hyuuga males.

"Alright, Akira you're up," With that Akira stood slowly and stared at Sakura with a levelled gaze. He straightened his posture before speaking up with his calm, yet slightly arrogant voice.

"My goal is to get into ANBU," Sakura nodded her head as Akira sat down and Daichi stood up slowly, waiting for Sakura's permission to start. Sakura somehow hated the small similarities Akira's personality had with…Sasuke's own personality. Her chest clenched for a moment before it disappeared…no…she would die before one of her own students was to defect from their own village.

"Okay Daichi your turn,"

"My goal is to become strong enough to protect the ones precious to me…I need to become strong enough…so I won't end up hurting them," Sakura shifted her emerald orbs towards Daichi in slight surprise. She was a little confused with his words but…she knew she'd find out sooner or later. Daichi's eyes were hidden behind his bangs before he sat down on the ground, slightly farther from the other two.

"Well that's all for today boys, make sure you meet me here tomorrow at the same time and don't eat any breakfast okay-"

"What's your goal Sakura-sensei?" Sakura was cut off by Reiji's words. She blinked before she answered, lips forming into a painful smile. This caught the three boys' attention as they waited for their sensei's answer.

"My goal…is to bring back an old friend who has lost his way," And with those last words she disappeared in a whirl of sakura petals, leaving three very confused genin by themselves.

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It was late at night and Sakura was helping Tsunade and Naruto organise the paperwork that seemed to drown all three of them including the Hokage's desk. Sakura continued organising the scrolls in front of her before stopping for a while and staring across the desk only to find Tsunade sleeping on her pile of work. The weight and slight drool on her left shoulder meant that Naruto was knocked out too. Sakura smiled at her best friend's peaceful face before she stared out of the window and up at the beautiful full moon.

"Sasuke…If Naruto fails to bring you back in his own way…"

"Then I'll be right behind him…ready to break both your arms and legs…so we can drag you back to Konoha," Sakura's eyes shifted from her usual bright emerald to cold hardened jade orbs. No one could truly become a shinobi without loosing their innocence to the constant death that surrounded them everyday…and Sakura…was no exception.

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"And if I need to…I _will_ crush you,"

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**Hey there everyone, please review if you read this. All Boys Konoha High should be updated soon so look out for it. **

**Please excuse any grammatical and or spelling errors.**

_**Please REVIEW! Thank you!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! Well I don't know why but I really am excited about this particular story…so yeah my brain is being eaten out by plot bunnies.

Please be kind enough to Review and give me some feedback!

(-. - ) Enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Team work

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Sakura groaned as her eyes struggled to open up, wincing as the bright rays of sunshine pierced right into her emerald orbs. The twenty year-old petal haired Jonin was clearly not a morning person. After wasting another five minutes in bed she finally decided to kick the bed covers back and drag herself into the bathroom. Once dressed with hair tied back Sakura took a quick glance at her digital clock and noticed that it was already eight in the morning. With a small sigh she blew the loose pink locks away from her eyes and made her way out of her small apartment.

"Damnit…it's too early," Sakura brought a hand up to her mouth as she let out a long yawn. Sakura slowed down as she continued to stare at her calloused hands; with a small smile she fisted her hand. So what if she had rough hands…it just shows her hard work…after all kunoichi were not expected to be all soft and innocent right? Before Sakura could ponder on this anymore a familiar voice rang through the quiet streets.

"Sakura-chan, wait up!" Sakura stopped and turned around, only to see Naruto running towards her with a big grin plastered on his face. Naruto slung his left arm around his pink haired best friend before bringing her close and continuing to walk down the path. Sakura lazily wrapped her right arm around Naruto before looking up at him. Boy did he look like the spitting image of the fourth Hokage!

"So…what is it Naruto? Did you need help with something?" Sakura was wondering how Tsunade was taking things right now…after all Naruto was supposed to be with her, being taught on the various trading routes Konoha uses.

"Oh yeah! Hinata-chan asked me to ask you if you could quickly drop by the academy this morning…I think she wants to talk to you about your genin team…or something like that," Naruto shrugged his shoulders as they continued to pass by the early shops of the village.

"Oh alright…I'm not doing anything now so I think I'll go-"

"Sakura-chan, when do we get to meet the little brats? You know…your genin team!" Sakura sighed and slapped a hand to her forehead. That's right…she was supposed to be meeting them right about now…oh well Hinata needed her…a few minutes of waiting won't do any harm.

"If they pass my bell test then you'll meet them around lunchtime at Ichiraku's so bring Kaka-sensei with you, ne?" Sakura gave Naruto a bright smile which he returned as the two made a quick turn around the next corner, towards the ninja academy. The two shinobi were just about to reach the gates when both Kotetsu and Izumo showed up.

"Naruto…why must you make our lives difficult!" Izumo groaned out as he scratched the back of his head. The two chuunin each grabbed one of Naruto's arms and started to drag him off to the Hokage tower.

"No! Wait-Sakura-chan! Help!" Sakura snickered at her flailing blonde friend but opted to keep waving until they rounded a corner before disappearing from her sight. After a few more minutes of walking Sakura was already standing in front of Hinata's classroom. With two quick knocks the door slid open and revealed the long haired Hyuuga.

"Oh! S-Sakura-chan, thank y-you for coming…uh let me just excuse myself from the class," Sakura peeked inside the spacious room and smiled at all the little faces that stared back at her with bright wide eyes. Memories of her own academy days came flooding back and certain images of a small dark eyed Uchiha made her smile falter a little. With the small click of the door Sakura was interrupted from her thoughts and Hinata was now smiling up at her in the empty hallway. Hinata was a few inches shorter than Sakura but her height seemed to suit her petite body.

"Hey Hinata, uh so what did you need me for?" Sakura gave Hinata a smile as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. Hinata took out a small grey pouch and carefully placed it in Sakura's hands. The pink haired elite Jonin grew confused as she stared at the small item in her hands.

"Uh…what's this?" Sakura held up the pouch at eye level before slowly opening it, only to add to her confusion when a bunch of small square-ish paper came to view. These looked to be…sealing tags? But why did she need them?

"Sakura-chan those a-are seals tags m-made by one of K-Konoha's best fuuinjutsu users," Okay _now_ she was way past confusion, which was slowly being replaced by suspicion. It wasn't every day someone gave you a bag of seals that were made by a fuuinjutsu master. But the most puzzling part…was the connection between this item and her genin team. Hinata seemed to understand her suspicion and the Hyuuga girl quickly waved her arms and shook her head with a nervous smile.

"Oh these are only for one of your s-students Sakura-chan…t-these are specifically made for H-Harada Daichi," Sakura's eyes widened a little and wondered why…it's true she holds all three of here genin's personal files but Daichi's one was almost blank. The grip on the small pouch tightened and Sakura looked at Hinata with a patient gaze, waiting for the shorter girl to explain.

"W-Well…you see Daichi-kun has a very hard t-time controlling his c-chakra and it can sometimes put others in d-danger," Sakura's emerald orbs narrowed as she recalled Daichi speaking about his goal the other day…

"_My goal is to become strong enough to protect the ones precious to me…I need to become strong enough…so I won't end up hurting them," _

"Hinata, what exactly is the boy's situation?" Sakura's voice took on a serious tone and it made Hinata jump a little in surprise.

"O-Oh…I'm not sure, he was n-never that close to a-anyone and he j-just barely passed t-the academy exam…but one time I-I watched him with my Byakugan and h-his chakra l-looked as though it was g-going to burst out o-of his body when he p-performed a low level jutsu," Sakura sighed and tucked the small pouch into her medical pouch before giving Hinata a small smile.

"Thank you Hinata, but no need to worry…I'll be watching over him," Hinata let out a small breath and relief washed over her before she bowed in thanks. Sakura merely rubbed the back of her head and excused herself. Once Sakura made it outside she couldn't help the curiosity that seemed to take over her mind.

"Hm…Harada Daichi…what are you hiding," With that a smirk spread across pink lips and Sakura took to the rooftops.

* * *

"Sensei! You're late! You were supposed to meet us here at 7am! But no…you come an hour and a half later!" Sakura gave her genin team a sheepish smile before rubbing the back of her neck. Reiji and Akira seemed to be glaring holes into her skull with all their might, making Sakura chuckle under her breath.

"Ah, sorry I was just on my way to meet you guys but I was held up by the future Rokudaime Hokage-"

"Oh stop feeding us lies Sakura-sensei…who would believe that _the_ Uzumaki Naruto hung out with…with _you_," Sakura took a minute to process the words that Akira spat out before she blinked rapidly. Wow…now she knows how Kakashi-sensei felt when they accused him of lying. Akira scowled before crossing his arms across his chest.

"Right…anyway today I will make you three go through what I'd like to call 'the bell test' During this test you three will attempt to steal these two bells away from me," Sakura smirked and dangled to old little bells that chimed gently as a breeze swept past. Sakura stood in the middle of the vast clearing a few feet away from her students before tying the two bells onto her hip.

"Is that it? This'll be a piece of cake!" Sakura playfully narrowed emerald orbs towards the fired up Hyuuga boy.

"Oh really…? Because in this test if you each fail to obtain one of these bells I will send you back to the academy…oh and keep in mind that there are only _two_ bells…not three but two," Sakura chuckled as she watched all three faces turn into worry, anger and then determination. The elite Jonin inwardly sighed. The whole point of this exercise is to get them to work together as a team…but if they aren't capable of doing so…would she really have to send them back?

"Alright boys, attack with all you've got and come at me with the intention to kill…start!" Sakura stayed calmly rooted to her spot even though all three genin had taken off to who knows where. Sakura waited for a few minutes and when there was no attack she let out a small sigh due to boredom.

"Man…if it was gonna be like this I would've brought something to pass the time-" Sakura was interrupted by a flurry of kunai that was hurdling towards her at an incredible speed. The petal haired Jonin grabbed a kunai and lazily deflected every single projectile thrown at her, after the shower of sharp weapons a punch was sent flying straight for her face but she was too fast and had brought up one hand to catch the small fist. Unfazed emerald met determined byakugan.

"Oh? Able to use the byakugan already I see," Sakura gave Reiji a quick smile before she tightened her hold on his wrist and effortlessly threw him across the clearing, crashing through two trees on his way. Sakura's eyes widened a fraction as she raised her left arm in order to block a swift kick performed by Akira. Realization hit Sakura and she couldn't help but smirk in pride. Akira dropped into a crouch and lunged at Sakura before he swiftly executed a few taijutsu combos. Sakura on the other hand easily avoided her blonde student's attacks and once she saw an opening she thrust her right palm into his gut, which sent him flying next to Reiji.

"Daichi now!" Sakura looked up and watched as Daichi cut loose two strings before numerous kunai, attached with explosive tags, came speeding her way. Sakura grinned and kicked off from the ground before somersaulting backwards and out of the way of the fiery path. She continued to run deeper into the forest to give her genin team a bit of time to think.

"Hm…working as a team already, even if they've only known each other for a short while…at least they knew they couldn't take me down individually," Sakura couldn't wait to shove this into Kakashi's face later on…man who knew she would get such a fine team of genin. But she shouldn't really be all that surprised since the next generation will always surpass the previous.

"S-S-Sakura…help me…please!" Sakura came skidding to a stop as her usual bright emerald orbs were replaced with a blank jade stare. She watched uncaringly as the Sasuke look alike limped forward with numerous deep bleeding gashes that tore through his mangled body. Sakura gave a soft grunt before she raised her right hand and released the genjutsu.

"Kai," Sakura narrowed her blank jade eyes at the surprised Yamanaka boy a few feet up on a tree branch. Sakura was well aware of the fact that the boy didn't actually know what he had made her see but she couldn't help the little bit of anger and hurt that gathered in her chest. Akira stared wide eyed at his sensei; he never thought that someone like her could look so uncaring yet betrayed at the same time.

"Genjutsu of that level won't work against me Akira," Akira had to suppress the sigh of relief that almost came out when his pink haired teacher smirked up at him with mocking emerald eyes, letting him know that whatever had just come over her was now gone. Akira scoffed before shifting his gaze to Reiji, who had just landed next to him on the branch. Reiji gave Akira a quick nod before both boys leapt off the branch and landed in front of Sakura.

"Get ready sensei!" With that Reiji lunged and executed a good number of swift punches, While Akira ran towards them jumping up in the air before coming down at Sakura with two kunai in each hand. Sakura gracefully moved from side to side, easily avoiding Reiji's punches, before Akira could impale her she dived to the left and quickly used her hands to push herself up into a graceful backwards flip.

"C'mon you two, is this all you've got!?" Those words seemed to annoy the two 12 year-olds since their brows twitched in anger and they sped towards her once again. Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly as Reiji got into a familiar stance.

"Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" Sakura had to put in just a little bit more effort into dodging all of Reiji's strikes. She couldn't afford to have any of her chakra points cut off right now…so she decided to fight back a little harder. Reiji continued to strike his teacher but he quickly grew frustrated when none of his hits connected.

"Akira, Daichi now!" Reiji shouted out as he put all of his effort into the last few strikes, causing Sakura to shuffle back a few steps. Once Reiji grew tired Sakura smirked and sped through a combination of hand seals. With her palms finishing off in the hand seal for snake she then slammed both of her hands onto the ground.

"Doton kekkai: Dorou Domu!" Sakura watched with satisfaction as the ground groaned before earth shot up and rapidly formed a dome around Reiji. The boy panicked and began to attack the earth barrier, but his chakra seemed to run out very quickly and he slumped against the inside, letting out ragged breaths.

"It's no use Reiji, attack all you want…that dome will just continue to eat up your chakra-" Sakura immediately tensed and as she turned around the last thing she saw was Daichi's worried gaze, Akira's smirk and that hand sign…Shintenshin no jutsu…

"Too bad Sakura-sensei but we're just too good for you!" Akira exclaimed loudly before he projected his chakra towards his target, once the petal haired Jonin froze and tensed Daichi sighed warily…its over. The red-head looked down at his team mate's limp body and knew that the Yamanaka clan jutsu had worked.

"Ugh!" Daichi shot his golden eyes down towards his blonde team mate and worry settled into his system when the blonde rolled over in a coughing fit. Cautiously, gold orbs shifted towards his pink haired sensei's bowed head.

"Akira…what's wrong-"

"Heh, don't get too cocky Akira…you three are merely at genin level right now…do you really expect to defeat an elite Jonin?" Sakura lifted her head and revealed a feral grin matched with glinting emerald orbs. Akira had just met Inner Sakura…and the two didn't exactly land on good terms either.

"W-What the hell is that?! No one…no one can have two separate minds!" Akira growled out as he struggled to stand on his own. Daichi made a move to help him but was pushed aside by the panting blonde. Akira was well aware that his chakra reserves were basically empty…he turned his head to his third team mate. Ocean blue met with brilliant gold. Daichi's mind began to panic as he watched his sensei complete a familiar set of hand seals.

"Doton kekkai: Dorou Domu!" In an instant Akira was trapped in a make shift dome of earth, leaving Daichi by himself. The red-head shifted his nervous gaze towards his smiling teacher before he swiftly grabbed two kunai and positioned them in front of him. Sakura smiled at Daichi before she straightened up.

"Attack me with your all Daichi! In a real fight your opponent will not wait around until your ready…they will not hesitate to bring you down!" Sakura growled out the last part of her sentence before she sped towards Daichi with her hand taking out a small scroll. When she was close enough she leapt off the ground and unrolled the scroll before Daichi was showered in millions of senbon needles.

"Crap!" Daichi dove to the right and watched as the area, where had just been, become a needle death trap. Daichi's golden orbs widened when he felt his sensei land soundlessly behind him. Sakura immediately sent her student a harsh roundhouse kick, which sent him flying through a very thick tree. She frowned a little in worry when she heard a strangled cry leave the boy's throat.

"Damnit…hope I didn't over do it," Sakura stalked towards the fallen boy but stopped immediately when she felt his chakra began to flare dangerously. Her brow furrowed in confusion…didn't Daichi have the weakest chakra out of all three of them?

Sakura narrowed her eyes when the boy's chakra became visible; it was a startling shade of a dark forest green. Sakura knew that something was wrong and her hand unconsciously reached over to her medical pouch.

"Daichi…? Are you okay…" Sakura got into a defensive crouch when the red-head pushed himself up but his bangs covered his eyes and she didn't know whether he was okay or not. Before Sakura could take another cautious step towards him an animalistic growl ripped through the boy, while his head was thrown back. A horrifying thought crossed her mind and she began to go rigid.

"No…he can't be…a jinchuuriki? No that's not possible…Tsunade would never allow such a thing to be done to another child so it must be something else," Sakura now took out the grey pouch of seals and gripped it tightly within her clenched fist. She quickly shot a look over her shoulder and sighed when the two boys were still trapped in her earth domes.

"Daichi…Its okay its time for a break sweetheart…now come here-"

"GRAH!" Sakura cursed under her breath when the boy fell into a feral crouch…as if her were an animal about to strike down his prey. If this wasn't a jinchuuriki then what could it be?

"I don't sense any demonic chakra…" With a deep breath Sakura lunged towards the boy and swiftly took out one seal tag before trying to place it on his forehead, but unfortunately for her…Daichi seemed to become way more agile than before.

"S-Sensei…please s-stop me-GRAAH!" Sakura's heart broke when tears fell from her student's angered features. Now that she thinks about it Daichi had grown a pair of pointed feline ears and he was basically on all fours…he almost looked like a tiger. Sakura racked her brain for different explanations but right now…the most obvious was a jinchuuriki.

"No…all the jinchuuriki have been captured by the Akatsuki except for Naruto…wait maybe its possible that it could be a-Damnit!" Sakura flipped backwards just in time as her student lunged towards her. When his claw like fingers hit the ground the earth trembled. Sakura caught a glimpse of the lake behind her and since none of her students were taught how to water-walk she might at least get him off balance and slap a tag to his face.

Got to get him under control…and fast," When she had reached the edge of the large lake, she leapt up and landed in a defensive crouch in the middle of the glistening water. Daichi emerged from the trees and stood his ground for a moment before he shot her a feral smirk. After a few seconds Daichi began to…transform? His striped cat ears were gone and two slits on each side of his throat opened up while his feet took the form of flippers. Before Sakura could react he dove into the water with incredible speed.

"Gills and flippers?! Okay…this is definitely not a jinchuuriki!" Sakura grew alert when she noticed the shadow circling under her feet. Once it began speeding towards her she took in a deep breath and braced herself for the impact.

"Got to let him attack me so I can place the tag on him," Sakura watched with slight amazement when the boy shot out from the water and was now coming towards her with sharpened teeth. Sakura narrowed her eyes in determination and didn't even flinch when he sunk his teeth into her left arm. Instead she took this opening and slapped one of the seal tags onto his forehead. It glowed for a moment before Daichi's narrowed icy blue eyes faded back into its usual gold and he became normal looking once again. Sakura sighed and grabbed her student gently before he sank into the lake. She carried him over to where the other two were trapped and once she was certain they were all unconscious she broke down her earth domes and slung the other two on her shoulders.

"Man…why did I have to get the dangerous ones?" With that last thought Sakura sighed and tightened her hold on her students.

-

Few hours later…

-

"Hey! Daichi, Akira wake up you idiots!" Reiji hissed through clenched teeth as he struggled to get out of the thick rope that bound him tightly against a wooden pole. After a little while Akira and Daichi woke up with similar groans.

"Damnit…I was sure that Daichi and I had her!" Akira growled before he too, thrashed wildly in his rope bindings. Daichi on the other hand stayed slumped against the wooden pole and sighed in regret. He deserved to be tied up…after shamelessly loosing control like that.

"Akira you bastard! If you weren't so slow than maybe we could have gotten Sakura-sensei!" Reiji barked out as he glared at his blonde team mate, who glared back in return.

"Oh yeah? Well if you weren't so useless with your fancy 'Hakke Rokujuuyonshou' than maybe we wouldn't have needed my technique! But you just _had_ to keep missing!" Akira and Reiji were now glaring daggers at each other while Daichi stayed quiet. A feminine sigh caught their attention and all three heads turned to their petal haired sensei.

"Enough you two! There is no point in blaming each other since none of you got the bells anyway! But some of you showed potential and with that I am willing to pass Reiji…and Akira. That is all," Sakura turned her back and attempted to leave, this was their last test…if they passed she would fully acknowledge them as her very own genin team. But a voice made her come to a halt.

"What…you're only passing me…and Akira?! What about Daichi Damnit!" Sakura turned and stared coolly at her students, acting as if she were unfazed by it all. Akira noticed this and he growled under his breath before speaking up after Reiji.

"You know what? Send us all back to the academy! We don't want a sensei that doesn't care about _all_ of her students!" Sakura continued to stare at them with a blank face, noticing that tears of regret that were now silently running down Daichi's face.

"Yeah! We're a packaged deal! It's all three or none! If you send Daichi back…you send us all back!" Reiji hesitated at the last minute when he noticed his sensei's gaze had darkened and she was looking at them with a deadly look. She slowly stalked towards them and all three boys had gone rigid. Was she going to hurt them?

"Oh really?" Sakura stopped just a few feet in front of them and crossed her arms across her chest while she stared at them menacingly.

"Y-Yeah!" Akira couldn't stop his knees from shaking…he never thought that a woman with pink hair could actually scare the shit out of him. Same goes for Reiji.

"Well then…you all pass, you are all students of Haruno Sakura," Reiji, Akira and Daichi gaped at their sensei as if she had just grown two heads. The Hyuuga and the Yamanaka boy had let out sighs of relief while Daichi looked at Sakura with confused eyes.

"B-But why sensei? We weren't able to obtain any of your bells…" Sakura grinned and ruffled his head softly before placing her fists on her hips.

"Well to be honest…this wasn't a test of who could get the bells…it was all about teamwork! A good shinobi is a person who works well with his team and is someone who looks out for his team mates. You see, a great man once told me that 'Ninjas must look underneath the underneath' or something like that," Sakura chuckled at the look of utter confusion playing on her students' faces.

"What…the hell does that even mean?" Reiji furrowed his eye brows and tried his best to get around those words and figure out their meaning…but he didn't have any luck. Sakura sighed and placed a finger to her chin.

"I'm pretty sure it means that a good ninja should be able to see through deception…you get it?" After seeing a few hesitant nods Sakura smiled and walked over to her boys where she then cut their rope bindings with a sharp kunai.

"But we worked as a team during our test so…why pass us just now?" Akira stretched his aching muscles while he questioned his sensei's actions. Sakura on the other hand sighed and gazed at her students with a serious look.

"I wanted to teach you guys that 'those who break the rules are scum…However those who abandon their friends…are worse than scum' and in my books…you all passed with flying colours," Sakura ruffled their hair, much to their annoyance except Daichi's, before looking up at the sky. Judging by the position of the sun it was probably around lunchtime. Sakura snuck a glance at the grinning Daichi who was being put in a playful headlock by an excited Reiji. She sighed and decided to go talk to Tsunade about the boy later…but right now she had to take her students to lunch.

"C'mon guys…I'll take you to lunch and maybe you'll get to meet my own team mates," Sakura laughed when their eyes brightened in excitement…even Akira's usual narrowed gaze widened a little. Well this should be fun.

* * *

"Sakura-chan over here! I managed to get away from baa-chan and even drag Kakashi's lazy ass over here!" Sakura entered the booth before giving Naruto and Kakashi a big hug. After sitting down she noticed that none of her student had even entered the booth…they just stood there staring at her with gazes of disbelief.

"Oh that's right! Hey Naruto, Kakashi-sensei…meet my first ever genin team! This is Harada Daichi, Yamanaka Akira and Hyuuga Reiji. Guys this is Hatake Kakashi, my former sensei, and Uzumaki Naruto…my team mate and best friend/brother," Sakura frowned and fully turned around on her bar stool when they continued to stand their and gape at her sensei and team mate.

"Guys…staring is rude-"

"Y-Your teacher was _the_ Hatake Kakashi?! And your former team mate is _the_ future Rokudaime Hokage?!" Sakura gave her boys a dry stare and scoffed while huffing.

"Hey, I told you this morning about Naruto but you three accused me of lying!" Kakashi shifted his surprised gaze over to his pink haired student.

"Wow…nice to know you take after me," Sakura just stuck her tongue out and glared at Kakashi before Naruto began to speak.

"Haha! Hey Sakura-chan I'm starting like your little brats…but don't they know who you are-" Naruto had a pale hand slapped onto his mouth and he trembled at the murderous look Sakura was shooting him.

"It's better off that way you Baka!" Sakura let go when Naruto gave her a sheepish grin. She then motioned for her students to sit down, to which they all did. They all ordered and were now waiting for their meals to be served.

"Hey boys…would you like to learn a totally awesome jutsu that can defeat any male shinobi?" There was a spark of curiosity and excitement in the young boys' eyes before they looked over to the blonde future Hokage, nodding their heads. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the older blonde. He wouldn't dare…

"Well it's called the 'Sexy tech-Ouch!" three small gasps were heard when Sakura had harshly slammed Naruto's head into the counter, effectively causing numerous cracks in the sturdy wood.

"O-Our future H-Hokage was bested by our _pink_ haired sensei…we're all doomed…" Sakura sharply turned her narrowed orbs towards a paling Reiji, hand still on top of Naruto's head.

"Trust me…when I say that you're very lucky to have my student as your sensei," Kakashi smiled underneath his mask and turned towards his newly arrived meal, unknown to the fact that Sakura shot him a grateful look and smirked. Naruto on the other hand continued to pout as he rubbed his aching nose.

'Thanks Kaka-sensei' Sakura knew that Kakashi never gave out compliments easily…especially towards her. After all she was the weakest out of her whole team…she could never measure up to their standards…no matter how hard she trained.

'_Sakura, key word: 'was'…we're strong now…strong enough to surpass the legendary Tsunade-hime herself'_ Sakura immediately identified the voice in her head and she smirked to herself…the voice was right…she definitely couldn't be called _weak_…not anymore.

-

After finishing their meals Sakura excused herself and made her genin team accompany her to the Hokage tower. Once they had reached their destination Sakura walked in to Tsunade's office, surprising the older woman into hiding her sake.

"Oh Sakura…it's just you…for a moment there I thought it was Shizune," Sakura rolled her eyes at her drunk mentor and allowed her students to walk into the room before closing the door behind them. Tsunade eyed the three boys that stood awkwardly in front of her, wondering how her apprentice got stuck with an all male genin team. After rubbing her aching temples the busty Hokage laced her fingers under her chin and shifted her hazel orbs towards the petal haired Jonin sensei.

"Tsunade-sama…I came her to ask if my team could be given a few missions for the rest of the day since its only a little past Lunch," Sakura smiled at her mentor before sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck, something that she has been doing often. Tsunade clicked her tongue before going through the chaos of paperwork that covered her entire desk. Once she had found a scroll she threw to her apprentice, who in turn caught it with no effort.

"Those are a list of D-Rank missions that need to be completed by the end of this day. The missions without a red mark next to it mean that it is available and no one has been assigned to them yet. You may choose the missions you want to do but make sure you bring it back to me when you're done and I will also be expecting a brief report," Tsunade took a long swig of her precious sake before glancing back at Sakura's students.

"So…this is your new genin team? Hm…quite the group…" Sakura smiled at her shishou before handing the scroll towards Akira, who took it without any questions.

"Akira, I want you Reiji and Daichi to wait outside the room while I speak to Tsunade-sama. While you're waiting make sure you pick out at least three of those D-Ranked missions alright?" Once Sakura got a silent nod she waited until her students were outside before she walked up to her teacher and sat down on the chair across form her.

"Shishou…I need to ask you something…it's about one of my students, Harada Daichi," Sakura sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose when she recalled how he had acted during their bell test. Tsunade on the other hand narrowed her eyes at her apprentice and took in a sharp breath.

"Yes, I noticed that the boy was in your squad…and I think I have an idea on what you want to know," Sakura looked up at her mentor with questioning eyes before she leaned forward in her seat.

"Yes…in Daichi's personal file it mentions that he lives alone with no family and that he was saved by a couple of Jonin before they brought him back here to the village. The child is quite the mystery. Anyway what I wanted to know was that if he...has some sort of…bloodline," Tsunade's hazel orbs widened for a second before she stood up and walked over to her window. A sigh escaped her rose coloured lips before she turned her head slightly to look at her curious student.

"I see…so he's been acting up? When Harada Daichi was brought into the village I was the medic who had given him a full examination. When he was in the hospital with me I got him to try out a few chakra exercises to see whether he was able to use chakra or not…but it had been a mistake since he fully lashed out. After that incident I had taken the liberty to do some research on the boy and to make sure…he wasn't a jinchuuriki," Sakura's eyes widened considerably at Tsunade's words and she was already sitting on the edge of her seat…desperately wanting to know what was happening with Daichi.

"I found out that the Harada clan is one of Tea country's shinobi clans. You see the Harada clan has their own special bloodline that no one has ever seen before…the bloodline is known as 'Doubutsu no seishin' or animal spirit…this allows the user to call upon any animal spirit and use it for their own needs," Sakura bit her lip at the information and couldn't get her mind around it. She had never heard of such a bloodline before.

"So…when the user calls upon lets say a tiger spirit, they are able to use the tiger's special skills in a battle? As in using its natural survival instincts and such?" Tsunade turned around completely to face her wide eyed apprentice before nodding her head with a tired sigh.

"Yes that's right…he can even sharpen his sense of smell and surpass the Inuzuka clan in tracking if he chose to call on a wolf spirit…but he was born with great potential and he isn't strong enough to control his own power, causing him to lash out against his will. This is also the reason why his family had abandoned him…they were afraid…look Sakura, if you want the boy taken off your team just say so-" Tsunade was interrupted by the sound of Sakura's palms slamming down onto her desk, causing it to groan under pressure. She knew that fiery look in the younger woman's eye…it was the same fiery gaze that burns in every Konoha shinobi.

"No, he is my student and if he needs my help I will give it to him…I will not give up on any of them…I am not just going to stand around and watch as my student falls behind his team mates. I will make sure they fight alongside each other without anyone being…left behind," Tsunade's gaze had softened as she stared at her trembling apprentice…this was why she took the woman under her wing in the first place…they were so much alike.

"Sakura…you know that Kakashi didn't mean to leave you behind in the past…it's just that Sasuke and Naruto were-"

"It's fine! It only made me stronger! I…I knew how much I was a burden to all of them and I deserved to be left behind," Tsunade growled in her throat before she marched up to her apprentice and roughly grabbed her by the shoulders. Sakura stared at her glaring mentor for a few seconds before she bowed her head in shame.

"I-I'm sorry Tsunade-shishou…I know it's been years and I should let I go already but I will never forget how much it hurt to see your own sensei give up on you…" Tsunade scoffed and brought the girl closer in a crushing motherly hug, one that Sakura greatly appreciated.

"Sakura…Sakura listen to me, you are not a burden! Kakashi made a mistake and he paid for it by losing his _only_ intelligent student to _me_. Now I don't know about him but I damn sure raised you into an outstanding kunoichi…one who can turn mighty mountains into rubble and save the lives of many with the same hands. I believe that you will turn those three boys out there into some of Konoha's finest…so please remember that you're not some weak little girl anymore! You are the only kunoichi who has surpassed the Godaime Hokage and many more!" Sakura's trembling ceased and she pulled away from the beautiful blonde Hokage. She had regained her strength and looked at her mentor with determined emerald orbs.

"You're right shishou…I shouldn't doubt myself…thank you," the elite Jonin turned and made her way to the door before Tsunade's voice had stopped her. The blonde Hokage bit her lip before she hesitantly spoke…

"Sakura, I'm sure you are aware of our shortage in shinobi right?" Sakura turned and face Tsunade with an uneasy gaze.

"Yes shishou…I'm also aware of our thinning relationship with Iwagakure and Kirigakure…do they have something to do with our missing shinobi?" Sakura's eyes narrowed dangerously as she recalled the many ANBU and Jonin who died on the missions that were near Iwa or Kiri.

"Yes this is related to that…you see I'm running very short on shinobi right now, actually we were already short of them ever since Pein's attack on Konoha years ago and Iwa or Kiri isn't helping our situation. I'm sorry to ask you of this but you're one of the only elite Jonin that I trust…and that is why I am giving you and your team an A-Rank mission," Sakura choked on her spit before she stared at Tsunade with an enormous amount of disbelief playing in her eyes. She waved her hands wildly while trying to force a proper sentence out of her mouth.

"W-What?! A-Rank?! Tsunade-shishou are you crazy?! My genin team is only starting! They are only supposed to complete D-Ranked missions! They aren't ready for such a dangerous mission-" Tsunade's vein throbbed before she quickly bonked a fist on Sakura's head, effectively shutting up the panicking girl.

"I have no choice right now…but if I knew that you were not capable of keeping your team alive then I wouldn't have even thought of giving this to you…so do you accept?" Tsunade fixed a levelled gaze onto the twenty-year old woman before smirking at the sound of a defeated sigh.

"Fine I accept…does this mission have anything to do with our suspicions on Iwagakure and Kirigakure?" Sakura bit her lip when the older woman had nodded grimly.

"I'm afraid it does…now, your mission is to collect information from one of our spies near Iwagakure…I advise you to disguise yourselves as civilians so that you won't be recognised as Konoha shinobi, The rest of the information is in this scroll…you will leave tomorrow morning…you are dismissed," With a quick bow Sakura exited the office and tightened her grip around the mission scroll in her hands. She already had a bad feeling in her gut about this mission.

"Okay guys, have you picked three missions?" Sakura smiled lightly when Akira nodded his head smugly. Reiji and Daichi just sat on the ground twisting a few kunai on their fingertips.

"Yeah but sensei! When do we get to do a real mission! All the D-Ranked ones sound like normal everyday chores!" Reiji grabbed his twirling kunai and stuffed it back into his pocket before giving Sakura an adorable pout. Sakura brought up a hand to massage her aching temple before letting out a defeated sigh.

"That's funny…because we have been assigned an A-Ranked mission for tomorrow…so we need to get those three missions done so you three can get some rest…you'll all definitely need it," Both Reiji and Daichi jumped up and gaped at their teacher while Akira stared with widened eyes.

"Really? You're not lying right sensei?" Sakura shook her head at Akira's warning tone and chuckled when her boys couldn't help the excitement that rushed through their veins. But she frowned…knowing that she was responsible for their lives as well as her own…and she would make sure that no one was going to die on her watch.

"C'mon you three…looks like our first mission is to catch the cat…Tora no.3?" Sakura laughed to herself…now why did this mission sound so familiar?

"C'mon sensei!" Sakura smiled and ruffled Daichi's messy red hair before following the three boys out of the Hokage tower. Watching the young genin in front of her made her smile while she made a secret promise to herself…she wasn't going to let this team fall apart…no matter what. She would keep them safe and make sure that none of their bonds were severed…in other words…she will not let them end up like team 7.

-

-

-

"I'll protect you guys,"

* * *

Hey Guys hope you liked this chapter! Please give me some feedback and leave a **Review**!

Sorry for any grammatical and or spelling errors!

Oh and if anyone asks why Sakura didn't go full out with her insane strength and such…well they are just genin right? Right lol but don't worry…the next chapter will be Action packed! Trust me…it's gonna be good! ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys thank you all for the awesome reviews! Hope you like this chapter as well! Oh and a few things I wanted to let you guys know is that yes this will stay a sasusaku and yes there are other genin teams but they'll be showing in later chapters lol

Please be kind enough to leave me a review =)

(-. - ) Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter three: Guilt

* * *

"Is that all Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura sighed and stared at the new scroll in her hands. It was 7.30 in the morning and she had been summoned by Tsunade at 7am…it seems that today wasn't going to be a good day for her. Sakura looked up and met Tsunade's serious hazel gaze, they both knew that today was team seventeen's first ever A-ranked mission. They both knew it would be dangerous.

"Yes that is all Sakura…be careful and don't forget what we spoke about…things aren't looking too good for Konoha," The busty Hokage closed her eyes before lacing her slender fingers together under her chin. Tsunade was fully aware of her former apprentice's strengths and there was absolutely no doubt that she could keep her team alive…but this mission didn't really depend on that. It depended on whether Sakura could get over her weaknesses and put the mission and her team first. When Tsunade opened her hazel orbs she was greeted with a swirl of cherry blossoms.

"Sakura…you'll do the right thing…I know you will,"

Sakura leaned against the giant gates of Konoha, rereading each sentence in the new scroll her mentor had given her. A scowl made its way to her lips and after reading it once more she placed the scroll into her medicine bag. The petal haired Jonin got bored after a while and decide to fiddle with her attire, she was obviously not used to wearing such simple civilian clothes which could barely hide a stash of kunai. The simple attire looked very similar to what Tsunade usually wore, except the top was a cream colour with a crimson sash holding it together. Sakura smirked while adjusting the sash.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your clothes shishou, lucky I grew a chest so I could fill this in…but still not as big as yours," Sakura tightened the sash a bit more so it wasn't too loose near her breast. It was no lie that Haruno Sakura had grown into a fine woman over the years. She had gained her impressive curves at the age of eighteen, Ino told her it was because she was a late bloomer but Sakura was just happy that no one could call her 'flat chest' ever again. She could also recall the time when Ino noticed that she had become more ample than her in the chest area, which resulted in the blonde accusing her of fake boobs. Now…a jealous Ino was something to stay away from.

"Hey forehead!" Speak of the devil. Sakura looked up and saw Ino running towards her while waving with a bright smile. Sakura smiled at her long time best friend and waved back. Once the blonde had reached her she took a few moments to catch her breath before slapping a hand onto Sakura's shoulder.

"Hey forehead guess what!" By Ino's loud squealing Sakura was guessing this had something to do with Ino's big crush on Chouji. Yes no one knows how the fussy Yamanaka could fall for the big boned Akamichi.

"What is it Ino, oh and make it quick since I see my genin team coming this way," Sakura could see the three boys making their way over to her with a look of surprise on each of their faces.

"Okay, okay…Chouji asked me out! Sakura I am so happy! Man…you need to get a man too!" Sakura winced inwardly at Ino's comment. It was true that she hasn't taken a liking to anyone ever since Sasuke left but she didn't want to take the risk of falling in love again. Sakura grinned and hugged Ino, she was so happy that her blonde friend had finally gotten the man she deserves and there was no doubt that Chouji would treat her well. Though she was happy for her friends she couldn't help the jealously that burned deep within her heart, she knew she was being awful for being jealous but she couldn't help it.

"Whoa Sakura-sensei your on time! Not to mention early!" Sakura pulled away from Ino and smirked at Reiji's look of disbelief. Akira stared at Ino while Daichi walked over to Sakura's right. The three genin wore normal dull coloured clothes which looked similar to their usual ninja gear. Daichi usually had his long wild hair loose but since he couldn't wear his forehead protector it was tied back in a messy ponytail with a few strands of hair framing his face. Reiji on the other hand had kept his bandages over his forehead so that no one would look at his cursed mark.

"Sakura are you Akira's sensei?! Why didn't you tell me?" From the corner of her eye Sakura could see how Akira shot Ino a menacing glare, which had confused her greatly…weren't they family?

"Yeah uh…I'll talk to you when I get back from my mission Ino!" Sakura gave Ino a gentle push before they waved goodbye to each other. Once Ino was out of sight Sakura turned around to face her team, who in turn stood up straighter when they glanced at their sensei's serious gaze. Sakura observed her genin team and smiled when she was certain they did a good job of hiding their weapons.

The petal haired Jonin then took off her forehead protector and let her short hair down, giving a shake of her head before using a hand to comb through the mess. All three boys couldn't help but notice how much better their sensei looked with her hair down.

"Okay guys, our cover story is simple. I'm a travelling doctor that took a liking to you three orphans and has decided to adopt you as my own; we are originally from a non shinobi village near grass…but by the route we're taking we shouldn't be meeting up with anyone…but stay alert," Sakura waited a few minutes so the boys could let the information sink in, once they had gotten it she continued.

"It will probably take us three days at most to reach our destination. Now…since we will be heading very close to Iwagakure I need you all to keep your guards up, Iwa is very dangerous and they are unbelievably brutal. Now I will be leading at the front, Daichi will be behind me while Reiji and Akira bring up the rear got it?" Once Sakura got a round of sharp nods she adjusted her backpack before leading her team out of Konoha's protective gates.

* * *

Sakura leapt from tree to tree, only looking back a few times to see if her genin team were keeping up with the pace she set. Once the sun had began to set the petal haired jonin landed in a small clearing and waited for the rest of her team to join her. The boys leapt out of the trees and into her sight one by one, all three looking as if they were about to die from severe exhaustion.

"Okay guys well done…at this rate we might even be able to get there by tomorrow night," Sakura chuckled slightly when she got a round of groans in return. After assigning the boys tasks to set up the camp she took out three large scroll and lay them out on the ground, scribbling numerous symbols onto each scroll. Once she had drawn the symbols, all in the form of a circle in each scroll, she took out three smaller scrolls and laid them vertically on top of the first three.

"Alright…this should do it…Hey guys come over here," The boys had already finished there assigned tasks and had been sitting around the fire before their sensei had called for them. Once they arrived at her side they noticed the scrolls and began to give their rosette sensei a look of confusion.

"Okay guys…these things here are what I like to call…chakra scrolls. Their main purpose is to help you gain better control of your chakra, you see while I was training to be a medic-nin I created this technique to help me perfect my control. But understand that it will only help you gain more control over your chakra and nothing more," Sakura noticed Akira's look of confusion and listened in when he began to speak.

"So did this exercise succeed in helping you perfect your chakra control?" Sakura already saw this question coming and had cleared her throat before placing her fists gently onto her hips.

"Well you see as a genin I already had precise chakra control…which means that I didn't use these scrolls much. My own chakra was almost near perfect but in order to learn the more complicated medical jutsu I need just a little more control so…yes it did help," Sakura smiled when Akira gave her a satisfied nod. She was about to get them started when Reiji began to speak in an irritated manner.

"What makes you think that we all need to do this exercise sensei?!" Sakura sighed and grumbled under her breath, she had a feeling it was too much to think that they would cooperate quietly.

"Well you and Akira do have very good chakra control for genin level but when we did the bell test I had noticed that when you perform 'Hakke Rokujuuyonshou' you tend to place too much chakra into each strike. And for Akira, your chakra control wavers while you use your Shintenshin no jutsu. I am also aware that Daichi is the one who needs this exercise more but I want you two to do this as well, since your bloodlines call for precise chakra control. I also want you three to go through everything as a team…remember…no one gets left behind" Sakura grinned when all three boys sighed and grumbled something about their techniques being perfect and she being over analytical.

Her boys may have shrugged off her words about no one being left behind…but to her it was a serious matter. She knew that her boys were better in different areas than the other but as long as she stayed their sensei she would make them go through their ups and downs together…facing everything side by side. If one of them was a little behind, she would train them until they matched their team mates. Sakura promised to help her students as much as she could…

"Okay…so what do we do sensei?" Sakura looked over to Daichi before she gently grabbed him by the shoulders and sat him in front of the scroll near the right, doing the same with the other two. As soon as her students were sitting in front of a scroll she lay out, she stood in front of them and gathered some chakra to her index finger.

"Now once I touch your scroll it will activate…so I need you to place both palms flat onto the scroll. Yes like that…now once it activates a random symbol of a human body part will appear in the circle. When that symbol appears you need to gather your chakra into that particular area…don't worry the scroll will tell you how much needs to be gathered-"

"Sensei, how do we know if we've gathered the right amount?" Sakura shifted her emerald orbs over to Reiji who was staring at her with curiosity swimming in his pearly orbs. A smile was twitching to show; knowing that her students were willing to learn under her made her chest swell in pride.

"Now that's the cool thing about my technique, if you have gathered too much chakra or haven't gathered enough the scroll will send small harmless jolts through your body until you gather the right amount. The jolts will only stop if you have put in the correct amount," After getting her boys to fully understand this exercise she gave them a small smirk and touched each scroll, watching in amusement when the boys' eyes lit up at the moving symbols.

"Okay, get started boys! I'll be back in two hours to check your progress," Sakura quietly stood up before she made her way towards the burning fire. She hadn't told the boys that the scroll will show her exactly how many symbols they've completed if she offered some of her blood. Her mind told her that Daichi will struggle a lot with this exercise and she had already begun thinking up of any possible ways she could help him. Though before she could start on that she needed to figure out why Daichi's body can't handle his own amount of chakra and why he tended to lash out.

"Man…I need my books…good thing I have this with me!" Sakura grinned to herself as she carefully took out a worn out scroll from her pack. As soon as she opened the dusty thing she had bit her thumb, smearing the blood across the scroll. No more than a second later a pile of books appeared out of the smoke and Sakura knelt down, sorting through the pile.

"Hm, where is it…where-ah! Here it is, the Chakra circulatory system," Sakura skimmed the contents page and went straight to the chapter about the chakra coils. Every now and then Sakura heard grunts coming from the other side of the camp, which meant that the boys were probably struggling a little. Yes those little jolts were harmless but having them shoot through your body non stop could hurt after a while.

"Hm, chakra coils…this can't be it," Sakura furrowed her brows as she continued to read through the chapter. She knew that chakra coils could disrupt a person's chakra control but that would be impossible for Daichi because the boy was still able to use chakra. The only way chakra coils could truly affect a person was if they weren't fully developed, which of course would cause irreversible damage to the person's chakra network. Sakura shook her head; this was definitely not the cause. If Daichi did have problems with undeveloped chakra coils he would never have been accepted in the academy because he would never have been able to use chakra.

"If it's not chakra coils then maybe…it could be his chakra reserves! His reserves could be too small to hold the huge amount of chakra he was born with…maybe!" Sakura's eyes glittered with determination as she flipped over to the third chapter. Once she had finished skimming the information she smiled to herself and closed the book. The chapter had stated that if the reserves were too small they would need to be expanded. Sakura read that the one of the only ways to expand one's chakra reserves was to do it through meditation.

"Okay…so by meditating I need to concentrate on my chakra flow…and make them stretch," Sakura spoke while she sat down with her legs crossed and her hands held in a seal for concentration. She needed to try this theory out on herself before she would teach it to her student. If there were serious consequences then she would rest easy knowing she would suffer and not her student.

Sweat covered her brow as she sat in complete stillness, focusing on stretching and expanding her chakra reserves. Now Sakura already has large chakra reserves, thanks to Tsunade, but more training never hurt anyone. The petal haired jonin took in deep breaths and made sure she kept her focus on her chakra flow. She could feel herself forcing her reserves to stretch and expand; usually she felt this sensation when she was being trained to hone her ninjutsu techniques.

It was true that Tsunade had spoken of this method before but Sakura never took notice because her brutal training with Tsunade over the years had forced her reserves to grow in order to be able to carry out more complicated medical ninjutsu. But Daichi's reserves seemed to be abnormally small if he would lose control by just trying to perform an E-rank jutsu such as the kawarimi no jutsu or the normal bunshin no jutsu. That was when Sakura remembered Hinata's words about Harada Daichi…

"_H-he j-just barely passed t-the academy exam…but one time I-I watched him with my Byakugan and h-his chakra l-looked as though it was g-going to burst out o-of his body when he p-performed a low level jutsu,"_

"Don't worry Daichi, I'll help you out," Sakura's eyes snapped open, revealing luminous emerald orbs. She instantly brought up a hand and wiped the sweat off of her brow. The feel of her chakra reserves being stretched wasn't very painful and she knew that Daichi would be able to handle it. The rosette also had an idea of what causes his chakra lash outs. The whole problem could be due to his chakra reserves.

"They should be done by now…I should stop them before Daichi looses his control," Sakura stood without a sound and walked over to the panting 12 year olds. Once she got there she noticed how tired they truly were and it looked like Reiji was about to pass out from exhaustion. With a sigh she touched their shoulders, motioning for them to stop.

"Alright guys good job, you can go take a rest now, I'll stay awake tonight to keep watch," After Akira and Reiji had dragged themselves over to the fire and lay themselves out onto the grass, Sakura immediately shot a worried gaze towards Daichi. The boy still had his head bowed down and palms flat against the scroll.

"Daichi, you can stop now…it's time to rest-" Sakura knelt down in front of the red head and took in a sharp breath when she noticed his face was scrunched up in pain and in concentration.

"S-Sensei…I'm doing my best to…c-control my chakra b-but-" Daichi's voice was strained and when his eyes cracked open they seemed to flicker in colour. Sakura immediately grabbed a sealing tag from her pocket and placed it softly on his forehead, resulting in the boy falling into her arms. Sakura stared at the limp boy in her arms and couldn't help the swell of pride that rose in her chest.

"You were able to refrain from lashing out…well done Daichi," Even if his progress was small it just showed that he was learning how to control his chakra and blood limit on his own, if only a little. But Sakura had no doubt that with her new found meditation technique his reserves would soon be on par with his team mates. After carefully setting Daichi down between Akira and Daichi, Sakura walked over to the huge scrolls.

"Hm, first is Reiji…let's see how you did," Sakura sped through a number of hand seals before biting her thumb and running it across the scroll. The huge scroll thrummed before the symbols moved across the paper, forming a completely different pattern. After seeing the results the petal haired jonin grinned in satisfaction.

"Wow, Reiji's completed eight…not bad, for a genin," Sakura was aware of how hard it was to control chakra, especially if it were genin who just graduated from the academy.

"Now Akira's turn," Sakura furrowed her brows a little when she noticed Akira had only completed six. She came to the conclusion that Reiji was just a little bit ahead of Akira in the chakra control department. After rolling up Akira's used scroll she finally made her way to Daichi's one.

"Hm, he was able to complete three…not bad. Better than I had expected," Sakura smiled to herself before rolling up all three scrolls and creating a hand sign, resulting in the scrolls to vanish with a slight puff of smoke. The rosette brought up a pale hand to comb through her messy hair.

"Well…better get into position," The petal haired jonin leapt off the ground and into a nearby branch where she began her watch over the area.

-

Sakura awoke to the cold morning air as she rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. She had kept watch all night and had only been able to get an hour of sleep, light sleep of course. The tired jonin stretched lazily before hoping down from the tree branch and landing without a sound. She looked around and smiled as the sun began to rise above the tall trees and took in a breath when a small breeze of fresh air swept past her. Sakura had always loved the forest and its natural beauty.

"Better wake the boys up since we'll be walking the rest of the way," With a small sigh she walked over to the boys and shook them for a brief moment before they too, awoke while rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. Akira was the first to fully get up and stretch, followed by the other two.

"Sakura-sensei…should we start clearing the camp?" Sakura glanced over to the Yamanaka boy before giving him a small nod and instructing him to start packing their things. After a few minutes Reiji and Daichi walked up to her, waiting for instructions.

"Daichi, can you take down the traps we set up? And Reiji I want you to get rid of any evidence showing that we were ever here," Once the rosette received a reply from the other two she took out a map, from her pack, and began to check if they were on the right route.

Once the task of packing up was done, Sakura turned to her genin team and put away the map. She was hoping that the rest of this mission would go without any problems, sighing after realising that they were nearing Iwa pretty fast.

"Alright guys, we'll be walking the rest of the way. We should arrive at our destination by some time tomorrow. Now remember we are civilians…but keep your self alert," After giving her students a reassuring smile she turned and lead the way out of the clearing and back onto their route.

It was already nearing the afternoon when team 17 reached a river half way down the path. Sakura smiled at the site of the glistening lake, knowing that they were already nearing their destination. Looking back at her genin she noticed that they were slightly tired so she decided to give them mercy and allow a small break.

"Okay guys, we'll take a small water break over here at the lake," A small chuckle escaped her peach coloured lips when her boys had instantly dropped their bags and raced towards the water. Sakura kept her pack on and stayed near their belongings while carefully checking the kunai hidden in her clothes, being careful not to make it obvious…even if no one was around. Emerald orbs watched as Daichi was playfully splashed with water, courtesy of Reiji and Akira.

"Oh yeah I almost forgot…Daichi! Can you come over here for a moment?" Sakura watched as the red head came running towards her, brilliant golden orbs shimmering in the sunlight. Sakura couldn't help but smile, her boys were so adorable!

"Yeah, Sakura-sensei?" Daichi sat down in front of his petal haired sensei and waited patiently for her to speak.

"Well I think I found out what's causing your lack of chakra control and your lash outs…now as soon as we get back to the village I'll show you the technique alright? Hope this will help you with your goal," Daichi's eyes brightened considerably and a grin began to form on his lips. Sakura laughed a little and ruffled his messy ponytail before ushering for the other two to come over.

"Thank you…sensei…you don't know how much this means to me," Sakura stared into Daichi's golden orbs and she was a little stunned to see how grateful the boy truly was. Sakura's thoughts saddened, imagining the hardships he had to go through…and at such a young age too. But she knew that no one had had it tougher than her best friend Naruto…

"No problem Daichi…anyway I'll explain it more to you when we get back. Now if you guys are ready, we'll head off now," Sakura waited for the boys to shrug on their packs before leading the way again…that is until her steps faltered for a moment. Sakura bit her lip and cursed her horrible luck. She quickly turned around and crouched in front of Akira, who jumped a little in surprise.

"Oh honey look at you, I knew letting you play near that lake would get you all muddy…" Akira was about protest against Sakura's motherly coddling but immediately shut his mouth when he looked into his sensei's stern gaze. She hugged him and began to whisper in his ear.

"Five shinobi on their way, three jonin and two chuunin. Act out your role," Akira's eyes widened at the horrifying news and watched as his sensei went over and gave the same speech and 'hug' to his other two team mates. Akira couldn't help the slight tremble that shook his hands, his ocean blue eyes clearly showing his nervousness.

Sakura noticed that it wasn't only Akira that was slightly trembling in fear, Reiji and Daichi joined in too. She couldn't blame them though…they were only genin who had only graduated from the academy not a long while ago. After cursing Tsunade inwardly she gave her boys one more reassuring smile. Sakura was also aware of the fact that her students' fear could make their act a little more believable.

"Its okay guys…mom's here," All three boys looked up at their sensei and knew what she meant. She had just told them not to worry…she would protect them. The thought didn't do much to ease their fear, but it let them know that they weren't alone in this. Several soft thuds made Sakura's ears perk up a little and she took in a deep breath before letting her stern gaze be replaced by one of shock and slight fear. The rosette turned and jumped a little at the sight of the shinobi.

"Well what do we have here…a woman and…three brats?" Sakura acted out her part as mother and gathered her 'kids' behind her, as a show of protection. Much to the Konoha jonin's dismay, the shinobi standing in front of her all seemed to be missing-nin. Images of her meeting with Tsunade before the mission began to flash through her mind.

-

"_Ah, I'm glad you could make it Sakura…I was afraid that you were still-"_

"_Still asleep? Yeah well the funny thing about that shishou is that I was actually __**still**__ asleep until your ANBU lackeys woke me up," Tsunade smirked at her former apprentice's grouchy attitude. The rosette really never was a morning person. After a few minutes the busty Hokage cleared her throat and began to speak _

"_Anyway this'll just be a short meeting since you need to get going for your mission," Once Tsunade was certain that Sakura was paying full attention she took out a scroll and handed it over to the younger woman, who caught it effortlessly. After quickly skimming through the contents of the scroll emerald orbs narrowed while a small growl escaped her throat. _

"_Shishou…what the hell?! Are you sure the information on this scroll is right? Maybe it's just some sort of ploy created by Kirigakure or maybe even Iwa-" _

"_I'm afraid that we have fully investigated the information from that scroll and it seems like it is all true…I know what your thinking…Konoha's in a lot of shit," The blonde Hokage began to rub her aching temples while she closed her tired hazel orbs for a moment. _

"_Shishou, please explain all of this a little more," Tsunade's eyes snapped open and locked with emerald. She let out a sigh, knowing that Sakura needed to know this before going out and carrying out her mission…especially if her genin team was going to tag along. _

"_Alright…well I have a few ANBU scouting the borders near Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo who are gathering information about the villages. Yes Sakura…we are starting to gain suspicion on Kumogakure as well, but putting that aside almost all of my scouts have sent back some alarming information. As the scroll has said, the amount of missing-nin from those hidden villages has started gathering together…" Tsunade paused for a little while so Sakura could digest the information. Once Sakura found her ability to talk she opened her mouth. _

"_What…that's impossible…missing-nin aren't ones that are known to band together just like that. Are you sure Kumo or whatever didn't purposefully mislead us? There has to be a reason behind all of this mess," Tsunade gave out another sigh before she leaned back on her comfortable chair. She shot Sakura a knowing look and began to continue her explanation. _

"_That's the thing…we're still not sure what it is but the main thing I'm worried about is that if this will all lead to another shinobi war…I know that we have Sunagakure, Kusagakure and maybe even Takigakure on our side but I don't think Konoha could take another blow as big as this one," Sakura watched her mentor's tired eyes, seeing how much all of this was taking its toll on her former mentor. Sakura clenched her fists tightly, glaring out the window._

"_We'll do everything in our power to stop that from happening shishou…but right now I need to know whether this…missing-nin 'gathering' will be near my mission sight because if it is-" _

"_Don't worry Sakura; they should be far from your designated location…but stay on high alert for anything suspicious out there alright? I don't want anything to happen to you or your young genin team," The rosette kunoichi smiled gently towards her former sensei and mother figure, knowing how much the blonde worried about her safety. _

"_Even if I do have a run in with them…I'll just have to let my fists do the talking for me huh?" Tsunade roared in laughter at Sakura's playful words, knowing full well that the young woman was capable of following through with that threat. _

"_Good…now other than that…here are the old clothes you wanted from me," Tsunade reached under her drawer, taking out a pair of her old civilian clothes…_

-

"Aw look, she's so scared she can't even speak," Sakura forced her body to trembled as she backed up a little, wincing when the jonin in front of her let out a barking laugh. She glanced at their headbands, noticing how two of them came from Kumo, one from Kiri and the other two from Oto. Each village insignia sported a long and deep gash, labelling them as missing shinobi.

"P-Please let us p-pass…we do not want a-any trouble," Sakura stuttered and backed up a step as one of the male jonin grinned and calmly made his way towards her. The rosette inwardly seethed at his show of arrogance. Taking a look back, she noticed that her students were completely frozen on the spot.

"Oh is that so? Then why don't you tell us what you were doing on this hidden route?" The man was a head taller than Sakura and he placed a finger under her chin, tilting it up wards to get a better look at her face. Sakura resisted the urge to bite off his offending hand and opted to act twice as scared as before. She kept her gaze to the side as she spoke in a barely audible tone.

"I-I'm a travelling doctor and…I n-needed a short cut to get to my destination…I had no idea this w-was your territory," The man had scoffed and let go of her chin, much to her relief. Sakura took note of the chuunin grabbing something out of his kunai pouch.

"Hm…a civilian doctor? Well you're definitely no use to us…and seeing as you have children we'll let you pass…" Sakura nodded hesitantly and watched the sinister grin spread on the man's lips. She knew she had to get away quickly because the missing-nin didn't look like they would keep their word. Without wasting anymore time the petal haired jonin ushered her team away from the group as fast as she could without gaining suspicion.

Once they were far enough from the missing-nin Sakura narrowed her eyes, knowing that they wouldn't actually let them go without causing some sort of problem. As if on cue the hostile shinobi from before dropped from the trees, landing in front of her jumpy genin team. She cautiously moved a hand towards her medic pack.

"I-I thought you were g-going to let us g-go-"

"Cut the crap woman, we aren't as dumb as you think…good thing the chuunin back there found your pink hair and green eyes familiar. He quickly looked into his bingo book and guess what he found," By this time Sakura's eyes were rid of fear and replaced with a cool gaze. Her body ceased its trembling and began to straighten up to her full height. The only female jonin in the group roared in laughter and walked right up to the calm leaf kunoichi.

"Now let's see…Haruno Sakura, age 20, village of the hidden leaf, an elite jonin and a part time ANBU field medic. Specialises in Medical ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu and has an affinity with the earth element…was trained under the infamous Hatake Kakashi and the Godaime Hokage herself…any of that sound familiar to you hun?" Sakura noticed from the corner of her eye, how her students had began gaping at her. She already wanted to strangle the life out of the blasted sound kunoichi for completely revealing her identity.

"Hm, it does ring a bell…but I'm not really sure who you're talking about," The sound kunoichi's eyes narrowed dangerously, letting a feral growl escape her throat when the rosette had given her a nasty smirk. Akira, Reiji and Daichi all stared at their unflinching sensei, all wondering if what the woman had said was true. They were all aware of the fact that the Godaime Hokage took on an apprentice but they had never actually known who it was…

"You pathetic leaf ninja are always so fucking cocky!" Sakura's smirk had immediately turned into an irritated scowl. How dare this woman insult her village, to her face no less! After taking out her titanium plated gloves, she slowly put them on…clenching her fists to make sure they fit right. The Konoha insignia engraved in the metal glinted slightly before Sakura threw the rogue ninja a menacing glare.

"I'm guessing you want the bounty on my head? Or did you just want to get back at Konoha by killing off the Hokage's prized pupil? C'mon which is it?" The sound kunoichi had had enough of the pink haired menace and decided to throw a kunai dangerously close to Reiji's leg. Sakura's emerald orbs burned in anger at the obvious threat against her student.

"Why not claim the bounty from Iwa _and_ gain a title…ne?" The sickeningly sweet voice of the dark haired woman irked Sakura, but she couldn't charge head on like she usually did…no she had to think about her genin team as well. After sizing up the rogue-nin she turned her head slightly to the side, making sure not to take her cautious gaze away from the enemy.

"Guys listen to me; don't take them on one by one…work as a team! Leave the jonin to me and watch each others backs! Remember our training…attack with the intention to kill because they will not show you mercy," With that said Sakura raced towards the sound kunoichi, dodging a flurry of kunai sent her way. Once the shower of kunai stopped she pushed a little chakra to her legs before leaping up and executing a perfect heel drop kick, courtesy of Tsunade's training.

"Damnit," The sound kunoichi's eyes widened slightly before she dove to the right and instantly leapt up to a nearby tree. Watching with small fascination as the ground exploded, creating a descent sized crater complete with large pieces of earth darting out as soon as the leaf-nin's heel made contact. A scowl made its way onto the Oto kunoichi's face when she found that one of the chuunin had been caught in the attack, rendering him severely injured and useless…or possibly dead.

"Don't you dare insult Konoha's shinobi in front of me!" Sakura's narrowed fiery emerald orbs darted around, looking for her genin team. She inwardly sighed in relief when she found them fighting the other chuunin near the lake, away from her area. She didn't want them getting caught in her earth shattering attacks. Smirking a little in pride when her boys' eyes widened at the sight she had created.

"Well you leaf-nin are not only pathetic but too soft as well…and you call yourselves ninja…HA!" Sakura's eyes snapped forward and glared at the three arrogant jonin standing in front of her. She cracked her knuckles before charging in on them and speeding through numerous hand seals.

"Doton: Doryuu Taiga!" Sakura's palms held the seal of the tiger as a river of mud came flowing out from her feet, washing over the dodging jonin. The three rogue shinobi shot out from the mud and flipped backwards, creating quite the distance between them and the fiery rosette.

"Ha! That type of jutsu won't work on us…guess you aren't as strong as you're made to be-" Sakura grinned darkly at the jonin and lunged towards them, bringing down one chakra enhanced fist that created a wide fissure in the ground between them. Sakura's sharp eyes caught the movement between the debris and instantly held up her arms in front of her, effectively blocking a harsh round house kick sent by the male Kumo-nin. The petal haired kunoichi grinned and twisted her arms around to grab hold of the shinobi's legs. After seeing the man's horrified features her grin widened and she harshly threw him against a line of trees, making him crash through at least five before finally stopping.

"Now…don't you just wish you had let us pass?" Sakura turned around and raced towards the other two left standing, narrowing her eyes when the sound kunoichi had raced towards a different direction…the direction where her genin were fighting! Sakura cursed loudly before running after the woman, only to be caught in a harsh wind jutsu. Large cuts appeared on her body as she hit her back against one of the trees behind her. She inwardly cursed at her carelessness.

'Damnit…got to save the kids!' Sakura's thoughts were rudely interrupted when a figure suddenly appeared above her, holding two sharpened kunai in each hand. The rosette threw herself out of the way, only getting a small cut near her ankle in the process. Once she was near the fissure she had created earlier, she smirked a little and noticed how the mud had filled it in quite nicely.

"Time to finish this…Doton: Doryuudan!" The rogue-nin's eyes widened as a giant dragon head, formed from mud, rose from the fissure and began to shoot mud projectiles at it him. The shinobi had dodged a lot but had finally gotten exhausted and was clobbered with many speeding mud bombs. Sakura's head sharply turned to the right, almost getting a whip lash from her movement, when she heard Akira's loud cry for help. Without another thought she raced off towards them, furiously hoping that none of them were severely injured.

"Akira…Daichi…Reiji," Sakura came to a skidding halt when she was met with the sight of her genin team being beaten bloody by the ruthless kunoichi. In an instant all Sakura could see was red…

"Put. Them. Down!" The Oto-nin only laughed before giving Sakura a 'look'. To Sakura's horror the woman held her students by their collars, dangling them on the highest branch of the tree she stood on. Before Sakura could say anything the sadistic woman laughed gleefully before opening her ruby red lips.

"As you wish…" Without another word the woman released her students…watching them plunge towards the forest floor.

"Fuck!" The rosette jonin immediately took to the trees, grabbing hold of Daichi, who was the closest…but farther from the ground. She caught a glimpse of yellow and dove towards the boy, catching him before he had slammed into a nearing tree trunk. Her mind panicked when she caught no sign of Reiji but was soon relieved when she noticed his beige vest…only a few metres away from impact!

After a second of pumping chakra into her legs she pushed off of the tree and placed both boys in her left arm, while positioning her falling body under Reiji's. She bit down on her bottom lip when he had landed on top of her as she harshly hit the ground, skidding backwards for a while before crashing head first into the base of the large tree trunk.

"S-shit…" Sakura shut her eyes for a moment to let the pain pass. She could feel the skin of her back breaking and new wounds opened on top of each other, the dirt from the ground wasn't helping as it embedded itself into her open wounds. She could already feel the infection starting. After cracking open one jade orb she looked down and sighed in relief when her students were all safely in her arms. With slightly trembling hands she placed them on the grass and winced when the pounding in her skull became louder.

"Haha…I knew I was right when I said you pathetic leaf-nin are too fucking soft," Sakura shot a menacing glare towards the chuckling kunoichi, who seemed to be preparing her palms for an attack. Jade orbs immediately narrowed and with one swift move Sakura was back on her feet, shaking her head to get rid of the dizziness.

"What's wrong Haruno-san…did you get a concussion?" biting her bottom lip in concentration she sent chakra to her head, hoping it would ease the pain and lessen the dizziness. After taking a deep breath the leaf kunoichi stood up straighter, eyes burning with growing fury.

Sakura crouched slightly, growling a response to the sound-nin "Let's see how you take it when this 'pathetic leaf-nin' shatters every bone in your body,"

The sound kunoichi narrowed her eyes before throwing multiple kunai and shuriken at the rosette. Sakura noticed the large number of weapons hurdling her way and without another thought she slammed a heel down to the ground, causing massive pieces of earth to fly upwards and deflect the sharp items. Taking this opening, Sakura sped past her falling earth wall and disappeared from the Oto-nin's sight.

"Shit," The rogue kunoichi looked around but found no sign of the Godaime's former apprentice. A slight flicker of chakra caught her attention. Her dark orbs widened when she was met with the sight of a smug looking leaf-nin.

"Take this!" Sakura slammed a fist straight onto the ground, watching as a giant piece of earth flew up and into the air. Without wasting another second the rosette leapt up and delivered a chakra packed round house kick, resulting in the piece of earth to head towards the stunned kunoichi with incredible speed.

"Zankuuha!" Sakura watched as the chunk of earth she kicked was turned into rubble by a sudden force. She knew this technique…it was the same technique she faced in her first ever try at the chuunin exams.

"I know that technique…you're controlling the air pressure and sound waves aren't you!" The shrill laugh of the other woman only confirmed the rosette's thoughts. The same technique was used by the sound genin Zaku, team mate of Kin and Dosu. Sakura would always remember them because that was the first time both Naruto and Sasuke had been out and she had to step up and protect them…

"Yeah that's right; it's a special sound technique! Anyway…enough chit chat…time for you to die! Zankuuha!" The sound kunoichi began shooting air pressure towards Sakura. With a small curse the rosette leapt to the side and began running sideways on the tree trunks, only looking back to see every tree get shot down after the other. Her chakra was beginning to weaken and she knew that if she wanted to heal her boys she'd need to finish this once and for all. Leaping off of the last tree Sakura dove towards the enemy shinobi and began going through a very complicated pattern of hand seals. The Oto kunoichi smirked and brought her palms up and faced the nearing leaf-nin. But before she could let out another sound wave or a blast of air pressure, her vision began to warp.

"Magen: Jubaku Satsu!" This was one of Kurenai-sensei's favourite techniques and it was the perfect jutsu to help her finish the battle. It was only a few seconds until the sound kunoichi broke the illusion.

"Kai!" The Oto-nin watched as the tree binding her and Sakura, who had suddenly come out from the trunk with a kunai, disappear back into reality. Her surroundings seamed to get clearer every second. A smirk began to form on her lips when she began to see the blurry figure of the leaf kunoichi, who seemed to be getting closer at an incredible speed.

"Shit-Ugh!" As soon as everything cleared up, Sakura's slightly glowing fist was the first thing she saw before unbelievable pain coursed through her body in waves. The force of her chakra enhanced fist had sent her backwards, crashing through at least ten trees. The pain she felt couldn't be expressed in words…it was as if every organ and bone in her body had been crushed and could not be repaired.

"How dare you…insult my village…and then have the gall to injure my precious students! I will never…forgive you," The limp rogue kunoichi could barely register the footsteps that were nearing her unmoving body. She could barely see the rosette's face scrunch up in anger and how she began to threateningly crack each of her knuckles. The footsteps came to a halt as soon as the leaf-nin had reached the side of the dying woman.

Sakura stared down at the missing-nin and seethed when her thoughts went back to the state of her students. The elite jonin was a little shocked at how much rage bubbled within her heart at the sight of the numerous cuts and bruises that decorated her boys. Jade orbs burned with unimaginable anger at the unmoving woman and without another word Sakura cocked her fist and slammed it down onto the woman's stomach, causing a crater to appear under such force and pressure.

"Glad that's over…" After letting out a long sigh, Sakura popped a soldier pill into her mouth, relishing in the feeling of her energy and chakra coming back to her at a slow pace. After a couple of minutes the rosette walked back to her injured students, slightly surprised to see them awake and helping each other up.

"Hey guys, look it's my fault you got injured…I…I should of stayed with you and protected you but I-"

"Sakura-sensei…it's alright! We knew how busy you were with those other guys but…man…who knew you were the Godaime Hokage's apprentice!" Sakura's eyes widened at the three smiling boys in front of her…they had just shrugged off her carelessness! The jonin bit her lip and couldn't help but feel guilty…she wasn't able to get to them on time and it was her entire fault that they had come out so injured. But before she could open her mouth to apologize some more, Akira and Daichi grabbed hold of her elbows.

"W-What is it you guys?" Sakura was confused but allowed the three to lead her to a nearby tree.

"We managed to take down one of the chuunin…" Sakura's jade orbs widened and her pride bubbled within her chest…her genin had been able to work together and take down a chuunin. She was beginning to gain a lot of bragging ammunition.

"Wow…I am so proud of you guys. You know what? When we get back to Konoha I'll treat you all to dinner…anywhere you guys want," Sakura chuckled when both Reiji and Daichi jumped up and high five each other while Akira just crossed his arms and smirked. Though all three boys let out a small cry of pain when they had moved, stirring up Sakura's concern and replacing her smile with a frown. The reality of the battle had hit her again…she wasn't able to get to them in time…she wasn't able to protect them.

"C'mon you three, let's find a nearby cave and settle there for the night. I need to heal your injuries as soon as possible," Sakura hauled the unconscious chuunin onto her shoulder and waited for her students to get moving before walking deeper into the forest.

* * *

"So sensei…why didn't you tell us that you were the apprentice of the Godaime herself?" Sakura rolled her eyes as she continued to heal the large gash on Reiji's left arm. Akira and Daichi had already tied up the chuunin and were now sitting beside Reiji, also curious about the current topic. After letting out a tired sigh Sakura had finally began to explain a little.

"Well I didn't think it was necessary and to be honest…I didn't want you three to judge me instantly just because of my reputation," Sakura smiled at the barely noticeable pink line that had once been a large gash. She took out a few bandages from her medical pack and had bandaged up Reiji's minor wounds.

"If you had told us earlier we might've respected you more…" Akira whispered as his petal haired sensei stood up and crouched down in front of him, placing a glowing palm on top of the long cut under his left eye. Sharp ocean blue eyes watched as a small smile appeared on her tired face, making him blush a little and look away.

"Well that's what I mean, I don't want you three to treat me differently just because of my title…and I don't really think it's that big of a deal," Akira nodded at her response, agreeing with her answer. Daichi scooted closer to his sensei and watched as the torn skin began to mend back together. The whole process seemed to fascinate the red head, but after a while he got bored and decided to ask his sensei a question.

"Ne Sakura-sensei, have you defeated any really famous people? Like maybe someone we would know?" Sakura finished placing small patches onto Akira's face and leg before she turned and sat in front of Daichi, making him lie down and placing two palms over his rib cage. She then bit her lip in thought….Hm…someone they know?

"Well I've defeated a lot of people but someone really famous that genin would know? Well do you guys know of the Akatsuki?" Three pairs of eyes grew as big as saucers and the petal haired jonin couldn't help but chuckle at their expressions.

"Of course we know them! How could we not!? I mean they obliterated our village in one attack four years ago!" Sakura smiled bitterly at the memory and had hoped that Reiji had worded that sentence a little…better.

"Anyway, when I was 16 years old…I had defeated the member Akasuna no Sasori. I had help from his grandmother Chiyo-baasama but I did most of the punching and stuff you know?" Sakura didn't really want to fully explain the battle to her 12 year old boys because they wouldn't really be able to understand the whole thing anyway…but maybe she would tell them when they were older.

"Whoa! That's so awesome! Sensei please tell us about the fight in detail!" A frown blossomed on Sakura's lips and she shot Reiji a small warning look…which was totally ignored. The fact that Daichi and even Akira seemed to have perked up and were leaning in to hear the story better.

"No, that story is for another day…now I want the three of you to get some rest," The rosette began to rub her temples when three mouths began to open and protest but she beat them to it.

"Now," There was a tone of finality in the word she had spoken and her boys seemed to have shut their mouths before walking over to the fire and curling into their sleeping bags. With another sigh Sakura began healing her own wounds and watching the cave entrance, in case anymore danger decided to pop up.

"Next time…I won't be so careless in a battle," With one last look over her shoulder, Sakura let the guilt wash over her again as she stared at her boys. She never wanted a repeat of what happened today…but there was a small voice in the back of her head telling her that this was just a part of being a shinobi and that they need to get used to the danger.

Three hours have passed and Sakura knew that her students were knocked out from their exhaustion. She got up and grabbed the bound chuunin before dragging him outside the cave. He was still unconscious and she need him awake if she wanted to get any answers. So after gathering some chakra into her fingers, she tapped his temples a couple of time before his eyes snapped open.

"W-Where am I?!" Sakura shoved him against a tree and began to stare at him with a deadly gaze that could make even the strongest shinobi tremble a little.

"I have some questions and you are going to answer them," It was just now that Sakura had noticed how badly beaten up the guy was and judging by the large damp bloodstain on his pant leg, he was still bleeding out. It was a little surprising that he hasn't died from blood loss yet.

"No, I'm not telling you anything," Sakura's emerald orbs narrowed dangerously and she let her free hand hover over his wound before pressing the two finger against it, making him hiss in pain.

"Now, why are a bunch of you missing-nin gathering together?" When the chuunin refused to speak Sakura dug her fingers deeper into the open wound, causing him to cry out a little. She shoved him against the tree once more to…loosen his tongue a bit.

"Are you, in anyway, helping out Iwagakure, Kirigakure or Kumogakure?" A small irritated growl escaped Sakura's throat when the boy still refused to speak. This was her chance to find out whether any of the enemy shinobi villages were plotting something against her home. The rosette had moved her free hand from his wound to his shoulder, using a small pull of her hand in order to dislocate it. The rogue chuunin had bit his lip and tried his best to suppress the screams that were threatening to rip through his throat.

"Tell me something useful you bastard or else I will not hesitate in crushing your skull in," The boy was beginning to drift in and out of unconsciousness. Sakura knew she had to get something out of him before he let the pain engulf him, which will eventually kill him….and soon by the looks of it.

"Fine…I-I'll say one thing," His voices was getting weaker by the second and the rosette had to lean her ear in closer in order to hear his next words...but she wasn't ready for the amount of shock that came after.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Her emerald orbs widened and her breath caught in her throat. Her mind was going around in circles and she couldn't come up with a proper sentence or thought. She was stuck in a state of shock to the heart breaking name that the chuunin had mumbled out. It took a good ten minutes for the petal haired jonin to get her thoughts together and demand more information from the shinobi but to her dismay he had already passed away in her hold.

'W-What the hell does _he _have to do with all of this…and w-why now?' Sakura shook her head from the depressing thoughts and scenarios that appeared in her mind. She then proceeded to tie the dead chuunin to a tree, hoping that a hunter-nin would see him and dispose of his body the next day. Sakura walked back to the cave, sitting down in front of the burning flame and lacing her fingers underneath her chin…thinking about the traitor of team 7.

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"Sasuke…where are you…?"

* * *

Holy cow! Lol really long chapter!

I'm sorry for any grammatical and or spelling errors! I'm too tired to proof read again.

Please be kind and leave me a **review**!

I'm sorry for the long wait! This was supposed to be posted days ago but I had to go watch my boyfriend's finals game at the basketball tournament and…I crashed my friend's car! Oh my Buddha I know! Lol lucky that there wasn't any damage except for the barely noticeable dent on the bumper…Lol so many things happening!

Hm for those who want to know when Sasuke appears…I'm still deciding so I don't know either Haha! Sorry if the chapter was crappy...i kinda rushed it =(


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